In professional wrestling, the sell is the element of making the action appear to be at least somewhat realistic to the crowd, or at least the marks within the crowd. In other words, it has to do with the acting necessary to sell the storyline. Reactions to moves are often exaggerated, or "oversold", for maximum crowd effect.

The rise of a significant number of "smarks" (fans who are aware of the staging of pro wrestling and many of its other conventions), has changed the "selling" process somewhat. As these audience members are aware of the element of acting, they tend to judge the worth of a match and its opponents largely upon the acting (selling) not being either over or underplayed. Along with booking, the caliber of the sell has much to do with the success of a promotion.

Certain wrestlers have long-established reputations for "no-selling" (generally refusing to sell) or overselling the opponent's moves. Many smarks consider The Undertaker to be a no-seller especially in the first half of his WWE career, although in his defense, his longtime gimmick of an undead individual has limited his ability to sell while keeping the character believable. Many fans have pointed to his match with Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2006 and his American Badass character as proof that he can legitimately sell offense if needed to.

Overselling (or showing too much reaction to a wrestler's moves) was a trait notably done by Curt Hennig. More often than not, however, inexperienced rookie wrestlers trying to sell their opponent's moves are guilty of this (e.g Randy Orton). Another example is The Rock who oversells the Stone Cold Stunner by perfoming a backflip when one isn't needed. However, oversells can also be used for a humorous reaction from the crowd (e.g. wrestlers overselling the pimp slaps of Human Tornado).

"Showtime" Eric Young is known for his ability to convincingly sell offense. Bret Hart was also well known for selling moves very well.

See also

• Professional wrestling slang

Professional wrestling slang